Gallery: Battle of Prairie Grove
Arkansas Conscription Broadside
This framed broadside, dated June 6, 1862, orders men to report with their best guns for duty with the Arkansas Militia. Appointed a brigadier general in March 1862, John Selden Roane was given the unenviable task of defending Arkansas in the wake of the Confederate defeat at Pea Ridge. He declared martial law, directed troop movements, and encouraged Arkansans to harass Union forces. Brigadier General Thomas Hindman soon replaced Roane and instituted harsher measures to maintain the Confederate defense of the state.
Hindman ruthlessly enforced the Confederate Conscription Act of 1862. The act, passed on April 16, 1862, was the first national conscription law in U.S. history. It allowed for the enlistment of white, able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35, although a number of men received exemptions, particularly those serving as ministers, teachers, state militia officers, public officials and laborers in war-related businesses such as mines, foundries and factories. Those not exempted could hire substitutes.
Hindman declared martial law throughout the district and immediately began issuing orders. The new commander burned cotton to keep it from the Federals, established facilities to produce military goods, enforced the Conscription Act, dismissed incompetent officers, and recruited partisan fighters. Despite public opposition, Hindman continued his successful methods.
Hindman’s accomplishments were impressive. “His genius was especially administrative,” remarked a Confederate officer. “Nothing escaped his vigilance and his energy. Resources, arms, supplies and army sprang into being almost by the magic of his will.” In a matter of a few weeks, Hindman created an army and supply system practically from scratch.
Many well-to-do Arkansans complained to President Jefferson Davis, but he rejected their demands that Hindman be removed. Davis did decide to place Hindman under the command of a less controversial commander, and chose Major General Theophilus H. Holmes, a classmate from West Point.
Broadsides (sometimes called broadsheets) were a large sheet of paper printed on one side only, typically used to announce some event or proclamation.
Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30231
